Musubi exists at the point of connection, not at the initiating intent that brought about the connection. As a necesasary adjunct to analysis of origin, takemusubi would suggest more thorough exploration of the immediate points of connection, as Hiroshi Tada did in the connection between his own personal experience and aikido. Both are enriched threreby, and the understanding of aikido thus expands with every new connection.

If I am understanding you properly, you are saying that musubi exists at the point in time and space at which physical contact takes place. Is that what is being said here?

It would be my belief that musubi pre-exists the instant of physical contact. It starts at the moment one projects his attention out and touches the partner and visa versa. It only begins to manifest at the instant that an intention is formed to initiate physical movement but it is there before. When physical contact is made, the musubi manifests as katsu hayabi or instant victory. In other words one has the partner's center at the instant of contact. In order to do this one has to already have done this with his Mind, it cannot be done by "reacting" to the partner. That's why O-sensei said that what he did wasn't about "timing". Timing is a relative term which has to do with when one reacts to another's movements. It would be my understanding that one doesn't react to another's movement, rather the Mind has already moved, the physical movement is simply allowing that movement of the mind to manifest. If the musbi exists before physical contect, on a psychic level, it would be impossible for the partner / opponent to move separately from the nage.

Anyway, this is something of a tangent off the main discussion... it just caught my eye.